WELL BUILDING STANDARD – How to apply to any project There is a new green certification in town. It is called the WELL Building Standard and it targets the ways in which buildings can enhance occupant health. Indicative of the increasing emphasis on how work areas are designed (i.e., Google, Facebook, Air Bnb, Linkedin), the

Design as Therapy In the world of building we have control over what comes into contact with our senses. What we see, hear, smell & feel can all be addressed during the design of the building. For the most part these sensory cues are perceived subconsciously and exist in the background. But there are some

IEQ – Lighting and Circadian Rhythm Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) is affected by many different factors. How light affects our health is in its nascent stages of being explored. Nevertheless, there exists enough evidence to know that artificial lighting can be a boon to one’s daily activities or can be detrimental to one’s health. Lighting and circadian

The Science of Biomimicry: How to Use Nature’s Teachings to Thrive The science of Biomimicry recognizes that we have strayed too far from the wildlife that we’ve coevolved with and asks for a return to the source. Those who practice it observe what other life forms have done to survive and then apply the underlying

Piping for New Construction: Plastic vs. Copper What Do We Know – What Should We Do? Water, it has been revered since the beginning of time. It sustains and nourishes us; we couldn’t live more than three days without it. Fortunately in the Western World it is readily available. It is so seamlessly intertwined with

Healthy Building Material Research Let’s Prove that the Good Guys Don’t Finish Last! Building material manufacturers are trying to clean up their act. Leading companies are disclosing more chemical ingredients than the laggards, and if your healthy building material research relies solely on an MSDS you may be fooled into choosing a less healthy building material.